The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru in Plateau, has advised political parties to embrace the use of media, especially social media for voters’ mobilisation and membership drive, ahead of 2023 general elections.
NIPSS Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Chukwuemeka Udaya gave the advice at a workshop on Enhancing Political Parties Visibility in Social and Mainstream Media on Wednesday in Abuja.
Udaya, represented by NIPSS Director of Research, Prof. Pam Dung Sha, described the media, both conventional and social as important instrument for parties in recruiting members and for sharing ideas of national and international importance.
He advised that ahead of 2023 elections, for political parties to cover more ground for mobilisation and engagement of electorate with less resources, they needed to use the media.
He said that only a few political parties were taking advantages of social media in spite of its enormous opportunities for election strategies and voters’ mobilisation in the country.
“It is a truism that the dynamic nature of information communication technology in the global space has brought about a paradigm shift in nearly every facet of human endeavour, and the political process is no exception to this development.
“The media has become a strategic choice of communication for political engagement globally, most especially during election campaigns.
“The role which social media played during the 2015 and 2019 General Elections in Nigeria was remarkable.
“Evidence from baseline studies by the political parties’ leadership and policy development centre of NIPSS in 2018 indicated that most political parties in Nigeria were not very effective in the use of social and mainstream media to enhance their visibility.
“This indeed deprived and are still depriving them of the great opportunity to recruit members as well as adequately engage with the electorates on critical issues of governance and national development.
He described the workshop as part of the ongoing activities by the NIPSS-PPLPDC under EU-SDGN to discuss and address the concern.
Udaya said that the workshop which was organised for national publicity secretaries and ICT/social media desk officers of political parties, was designed as part of efforts to strengthen political parties and the party system in the country.
“The workshop will equip participants with skills and knowledge on the development of content for a functional and interactive website; an effective and vibrant media management units as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others.
“Overall, it will present an opportunity for national publicity secretaries and ICT/social media desk officers of political parties toenhance the visibility of their political parties in the mainstream and social media,” he said.
The National Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr Leonard Nzenwa, said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, media and security agencies played key roles on how elections were conducted in Nigeria.
He advised parties to be conscious of the fact that while the social media was easy to use and cost effective, it could also be misused especially for fake news.
Nzenwa said while both the social and mainstream media had their challenges, there was need for political parties to balance the usages and contents.
He advised parties to exploit the benefits of social media to sell their manifestos, mobilise voters’ support and things that would help them to win elections.
Nzenwa commended the organisers of the workshop, adding that it was a great opportunity that must be harnessed by political parties.
Senior Election Expert, with European Centre for Electoral Support, Dr Ishiaka Yahaya, said while speaking with newsmen that the workshop was to expose political parties officers to the benefits of using the social media to project their activities and programmes.
“The world is fast changing. We are moving away from traditional media to social media and the political parties which are trying to mobilise members cannot afford to neglect this innprojecting their activities and programmes.”
The Workshop was organised by Political Parties’ Leadership and Policy Development Centre, in collaboration with European Centre for Electoral Suppor, Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism and BBC Media Action.